


Circus Night

by Mar_69



Series: Tales of young heroes [1]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Dick Grayson Gets a Hug, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Everyone Is Gay, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:14:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27027139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mar_69/pseuds/Mar_69
Summary: During the mission at Haly's Circus, Roy questions Dick's professionalism, and the team gets to know him better.
Relationships: Artemis Crock & Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Kon-El | Conner Kent, Dick Grayson & M'gann M'orzz, Dick Grayson & Raya Vestri, Dick Grayson & Roy Harper
Series: Tales of young heroes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964524
Kudos: 75





	Circus Night

**Author's Note:**

> Whumptober: Self-harm  
> Tecnically is not self-harm, but I like what I did.

When Dick planned the cover mission at Haly’s Circus, he chose carefully his companions, Kaldur was out of the plan, the gills and finger membranes were too hard to cover, Wally knew too much, and Roy knew about his past too, but he was persistent about being on the mission, M'gann and Conner's powers were helpful to do an act, and Artemis has good.

"Are you sure about that?" Roy had pulled him away, holding his arms, muttering.

"If you are talking about the mole, I swear…"

"I'm talking about going to the circus, you can help from outside, and the rest of us can infiltrate."

Dick felt like a little kid, remembering the time Oliver Queen invited him to a sleepover, the man knew Batman's identity, therefore Robin's wasn't hard to guess; taking Roy, Dick, Wally, and Kaldur for the weekend, they spent the day at an amusement park.

He knew Oliver didn't have bad intentions, taking them to the circus for the night, it was a surprise, but Dick had a panic attack, running away, hiding in an alley, thank God Dinah was there., Bruce was fast to find him, taking him back to Gotham, after a quick talk with Dinah.

“I’m okay, Mr. Haly needs me.”

“If you need a break or feel overwhelmed, we’ll end the mission.”

“Stop worrying, we have to catch the train.”

***

Haly knew it was him, and, curiously, Zitka, the circus elephant, too, there were new people, making easy to hide, blend in, but the Vestri family was there, and hiding his identity from them would be hard, and seeing them, acting like strangers, would give him a really bad heartache.

They were organizing their sleeper car, M’gann was happy, using one of the top bunk beds, Conner climbing the other one, closing his eyes, there were two more mattresses and a sofa, a little cabinet, big enough to hide their suites and weapons.

“I will take the sofa.” declared Roy, searching for sheets, making his bed.

It was his parents' room, in one corner they had a big bed, a closet, where Dick and William, his cousin, liked to hide, at the door the lines they drew, to measure the heights, looked fresh, he wasn’t as tall as his cousin yet, but he was over the line his father drew, if they were alive he would be able to participate on their big trick, the one that got them killed.

Someone knocked on the door, Raya Verti, his childhood friend, was there, tall and slim, he looked like an adult, so different from Dick’s memories, small, round face, with bangs and pigtails, Marc was around too, closer to his age than Raya, he was more muscular, taller than him, the three of them changed, will they recognize him?

“We are having dinner.”

“We’ll be there.”

_ Robin, are you okay? _

“We have to blend in with the crew.”

He went off of the place before anyone could ask him questions, he wondered if Mr. Haly could change the room, one that wasn’t so tied to Dick’s past life or let him sleep in his office, maybe sleep in the more common areas, arguing it was for the investigation.

He chatted with a lot of people in the dining car, laughing, cracking jokes, asking about the background of the other performers, avoiding Roy, trying to ignore M’gann worries, hitting him with psychic waves, Artemis knew about secrets, she wasn’t going to ask, and Conner wasn't good reading people.

He ended talking with Marc, acting lighthearted and joyful as he remembered, and they chatted, Dick, asking about the circus life, faking an accent, trying to hide his mannerism.

Going back to their room, he contemplated himself on the windows, his hair lighter, in a shade of brown, the contact lenses changed the color of his eyes, going for a dark brown, if they didn’t pay enough attention the wouldn’t relate Richard Grayson with Dan Danger, and Dick was supposed to be in America, in Gotham, at this hour, he should be sleeping, getting ready to another day of school.

“G’night,” Artemis muttered, closing the curtains of her bunk, M’gann, and Conner following her example.

Laying on the bed, Dick pressed his hand over the wall, feeling the vibration of the train, listening to other people chatter, the movement of the corridor, the breathing of his teammates, closing his eyes, he was capable of remembering the circus nights, Raya and Marc sneaking on his room, having sleepovers with them and his cousin, walking into his parents’ bed, sleeping between them, putting away the nightmares; they were so different from Bruce, the man was always so rigid when Dick sneaked in his room, acting weird when Dick hugged him like affection was something strange, alien to him.

His phone buzzed, a message from Roy, asking if he was okay, he considered telling him they were sleeping in his old family room, that the couch he was using was chosen by Dick, that two of his best friends were there, and he had to act like a stranger, but Dick just tipped he was going to use the bathroom, walking away, going to the dinner car, looking at the window.

“You can change your hair and eyes, fake an accent, use a new name, but you will always perform like a Grayson.”

Raya was there, her long red hair falling at her back, wearing simple clothes, her hands on her hips, and an accusatory look on her eyes, the same posture she had after discovered Dick stealing treats of the kitchen.

“Someone is framing Mr. Haly.”

“I know, but you didn’t have to do the same act as your family, without the net.”

Raya sitting on a couch, smiling at Dick, the boy sitting at her side, hugging her, smelling the shampoo, feeling her hands stroking his hair.

“I didn’t want Mr. Haly to know, if the show was impressive enough he would hire us.”

“C’mon Little Robin, even if you do bad jokes Jack will hire you.”

They looked at the window, Raya still petting his head, making Dick feel tired, wanting to sleep.

“Tomorrow you can help us, me and Marc, with the care of Zitka, your friends can help us too.”

Marc entered the car, smiling at Dick, jumping over his toes, sitting at his side, using Dick to support his back, smiling.

“How’s the life of a rich kid?”

“Boring, I would rather be in the circus.”

“I discovered what Raya and Will did when they ran away from our sleepovers, they drank alcohol, and kissed,” muttered Marc, giggling, the two boys looked at Raya, the girls smacking their heads, walking away, going to the fridge, taking three bottles out.

“Let’s share a toast, not every day we have an old partner back.”

Dick knew he shouldn’t, tomorrow he had a performance, and he needed to be on his senses to catch the thief, but acting like a reckless teenager wasn’t something he did, with his friends at Gotham Academy he had to keep the act as Richard Grayson, with the team, they didn’t go out as normal people very often, and Batman was always around, and he wasn’t going to get trashed, just tipsy, like drinking champagne at a gala.

They drank, slowly, sharing about their whereabouts for the past years, enjoying themselves, after they ended the bottles, Raya took out the fridge a big box of ice cream.

“I’m sure your dad can restock it, why don’t you share with your friends.”

Dick hugged her, and hugged Marc, taking spoons, stopping at the entrance of the car.

“Nobody should know who I am.”

“Roger that, little Robin.”

“See you tomorrow, Dick.”

He walked away, feeling a little light, holding the box of ice cream, Roy would be pissed, he was out for an hour, and Conner was capable of smelling the alcohol he drank, and two people knew his secret identity, Batman would ground him for that, calling him 

Opening the door, he was surprised by the light, Artemis bunk was closed, but the others were open, Roy with crossed arms, looking a lot like Dinah when they didn’t get the lesson or weren’t paying attention, M’gann flew at his side, looking around him.

“What took you so long?”

“I brought ice cream.”

Artemis moved the curtains, peeping out “What flavor?”

“Chocolate.”

She stood, taking the box out of Dick's hands, opening it, using one of Dick’s spoons to take a big scoop, Conner jumped down, sitting next to Artemis to eat, M’gann looked at him, worried, Roy arched his eyebrows, waiting for an explanation.

“Is a gift from a friend.”

“You can’t tell them who you are.”

“They don’t know I’m Robin.”

“They know who you are? You can't share with everybody your secret identity, by doing that you put everyone in danger.”

“We just talked, drank a couple of beers, they understand I’m here to save the circus.”

“You can drink alcohol, you’re thirteen!”

“You’re not my father or my brother, you can order me around!”

Dick considered running away, sneaking on Marc or Raya’s bed, like old times or hiding in a small place, dark and silent.

“If you can’t act professionally you have to go back to Mount Justice.”

“He just drank a beer, as a part of his act, you just act suspicious, like one of us will stab you in the back.” Artemis replied, pointing a finger at Roy “You are the one who acts unprofessionally.”

“Maybe Roy is right.” Muttered Dick, clenching his fists “Maybe I’m unprofessional, I’m sorry for having friends in the place I grew up, or wanting to be away from the place I lived most of my life, or not wanting to sleep in the bunk I shared with my dead cousin, I’m sorry!” His voice raised, angry, the tears at the corners of his eyes.

M’gann hugged him, cooing, petting his head, sighing, he leaned over the touch, feeling just a little bit bad for the guilty look on Roy’s eyes, and ignoring the way Artemis and Conner looked at him.

“I’m sorry Rob, I know this place is important to you, but you’re hurting yourself by doing this.” sighing loudly, he put his hand over Dick’s shoulder. “I’m worried.”

“You can trust us,” M’gann muttered.

“We are going to save the circus.” Added Artemis,

“The thief will fail.” Conner nodded, offering a scoop of ice cream.

Maybe they didn’t know everything, not like Wally, but it felt good to be supported by his friends.

**Author's Note:**

> Am I in love with Dick Grayson?  
> Yes, of course I'm.


End file.
